


Speak to Me

by WolfieChan12



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Deaf!Fukawa, Developing Relationship, F/F, Non-Despair AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-09
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2017-12-26 02:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/960326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfieChan12/pseuds/WolfieChan12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of the gossip about the famous romance novelist Fukawa Touko is due to the fact that everyone simply thinks she's just another anti-social shy girl who writes amazing books. Aspiring detective Kirigiri Kyouko can't help but wonder if that's really who Fukawa is, but when she discovers that Fukawa is a deaf classmate, Kirigiri is the first and only one to make a real attempt at befriending Fukawa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A lovely anon on Tumblr provided me with the idea and stated it was okay for me to turn it into an AU, so... I did. c: I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it! :D

                For some strange reason, the girl with the long, braided, dark hair and huge round glasses is one of the most popular girls in the school. Though it could definitely be because the girl is a famous author – famous, of course, being an understatement – Kirigiri has doubts as to if that’s the true reason everyone flocks around her.

                She pauses on her way to her geometry class; there’s something amiss with the aforementioned girl. _Her name… I believe it was Fukawa Touko._ Kirigiri awkwardly lingers in the hall, her bag slung over her shoulder, part of her long hair trapped beneath the single strap. _Yes, that was her name._

                From across the hall, Kirigiri can see that Fukawa looks highly uncomfortable with all of the students flocking around her. Everyone is making idle chatter with her about this and that, and yet Fukawa seems to be only half paying attention; maybe she’s just as shy as the rumours state, Kirigiri thinks, as her feet finally move on their own and she continues to her class.

                Then again, Kirigiri really has no idea who Fukawa really _is_. The two lack classes together and Kirigiri has never heard or seen Fukawa make an attempt to talk even once. The literary girl clearly leads a lonely lifestyle. Hell, the only thing Kirigiri has heard about Fukawa has been from students gossiping, and all they repeat over and over is that “she’s shy but easy to talk to, and she never criticizes anyone”. Kirigiri thinks it’s strange; everyone, no matter who they are, is always critical of something.

                Nevertheless, she has to push the curiosity out of her mind for the time being so that she can get through class. Afterwards, of course, she has a bit of free time to herself, and she plans to find out what Fukawa Touko is _really_ like. She disregards the gossip she’s heard and takes a seat, pulling out her supplies from her bag just after dropping it to the floor near her desk.

                Class moves at an indescribably fast pace for whatever reason, and when the bell rings, Kirigiri slowly packs her bag again and leaves the classroom last that day. Her teacher says goodbye to her, which she accepts with a light nod to show that she’s heard, and then she makes her way out.

                She doesn’t know where to begin to find out things about Fukawa and she doesn’t know why this girl has piqued her curiosity, but nonetheless she saunters down the hallway and heads towards the library. The destination makes sense to her; maybe the girl, being an author and all, would be in the library if she just so happens to lack a class this hour.

                Kirigiri’s assumptions prove correct. She takes her first few steps into the library, her eyes scanning over the various students there, when she momentarily locks gazes with Fukawa. The latter girl immediately looks away, drawing her arms around herself a little, and then one of her hands reaches out and turns a page in the novel that’s lying open on the table.

                She hesitates in the doorway for a moment before she approaches Fukawa’s table and sits down across from her, acting as if she’s going to study. Fukawa’s grey eyes flick upwards at Kirigiri, and after another second she glances back down at her novel.

                A minute of silence passes between them with Kirigiri staring blankly down at her spiral notebook before the latter raises her head up and introduces herself. Fukawa doesn’t respond at all, and Kirigiri thinks it’s due to the fact that the former is too caught up in her novel.

                Kirigiri tries again. There’s no response, even though her second attempt was far louder than the first. She sits back and begins to think when she reasons that… maybe, Fukawa can’t hear her.

                She scribbles some words in her notebook – _“Why don’t you speak?”_ – and slides it across the table, prompting Fukawa to glance at it. Her eyes scan the words before she looks up at Kirigiri’s curious face, and with a shaking hand she aims her index finger at her right ear and mutters out a low hiss informing Kirigiri that she’s deaf. Her words are broken, but that’s to be expected for someone with a lack of hearing.

                For a moment Kirigiri questions if Fukawa can read lips, and as soon as she’s sure Fukawa is staring at her, she murmurs, “Everyone talks about you, saying that the reason you don’t talk is because you’re shy. That’s… not quite the case, is it?”

                “I c-can read lips,” Fukawa begins, and Kirigiri’s suspicions are then affirmed, “and I see no need to draw attention to myself by having a translator stand by me every second of every day.” Her words are spiteful and bitter.

                “Why haven’t you tried to push those who gather around you away?” She’s using clearer diction than she normally would, just so that Fukawa read her lips successfully without any issues.

                “It’s easier to i-ignore a band of idiots… rather than shove each away from me…” Fukawa half-growls, flicking her gaze away from Kirigiri. The latter simply stands and walks off, though it’s not because Fukawa has offended her or is too spiteful for her tastes; instead, it’s because she’s searching for something.

                She returns near the end of the hour with several large books and sets them down by the notebook. Fukawa yet again looks up; on the page that Kirigiri has left open is a hastily-scribbled comment of, _“You walked away because you find me disgusting…?”_ When Kirigiri spots it, her only response is to slowly shake her head and then reach towards one of the thinner hardcover books and open it to the third page.

                Directly in front of Fukawa, Kirigiri brings her gloved hands up in front of her chest and begins practicing the signs listed, mouthing what each means as she does them. Fukawa’s eyes open wide and her jaw falls slack as she watches the mysterious woman who only met her half an hour ago begin to attempt to teach herself sign language.

                After a few minutes, Fukawa manages to utter out a stunned, “W-why...?”

                Kirigiri’s movements pause. She stares at Fukawa, a soft smile forming on her lips, and she simply says, “I’m curious.”

                That’s definitely not a lie; she’s curious as to who Fukawa really is, as to why Fukawa seems so spiteful and why she called herself “disgusting” in the note earlier. For whatever reason, Kirigiri feels the need to get to know this girl; perhaps because they’re both social outcasts in some way.

                Just as the bell rings and Kirigiri begins taking the books to the counter to check out for studying on her own time, Fukawa stops her and hands Kirigiri her notebook. There’s another note on it – _“What is your name?”_ – to which Kirigiri responds by writing her name down on the same page and smiling her characteristic fishhook smile yet again.

                Fukawa hands the notebook back yet again and hugs her novel against her chest, her gaze locked at the ground. She slowly turns and makes her way out of the library, her heavy braids momentarily twirling around her form as she retreats, and though Kirigiri knows that Fukawa cannot hear her, she murmurs out,

                “I suppose we’ll meet again.” 


	2. Chapter 2

                As soon as she gets home the first thing she does is walk towards her room and sit down on her bed, pulling out the books she’s gotten from the library and opening back up to the same page of the same book she’d opened in front of Fukawa. Her eyes scan the page and she repeats the signs’ meanings out loud as her hands shape them, and when she’s sure she’s got some of the signs memorized she closes the book and repeats them over and over, makings sure she knows them.

                She repeats this for a week and she hasn’t talked to Fukawa since then, studying the sign language on her own time without much help from someone who actually knows sign language or could teach her. Eventually the textbooks become monotonous and she can’t find anything new to learn from, so she turns them back in and tries performing internet searches for more help, following along video tutorials.

                She’s in the library studying on one of the computers, her ear buds plugged into the speakers and her ears, slowly repeating the signs over and over to herself as she follows along with the video. She knows it’s impossible to learn sign language within a week or two, but nonetheless she’s spent all of her free time trying to come up with a way to better communicate with Fukawa.

                Though either way, if Fukawa read her lips or read her hands, she’d have to be looking at Kirigiri, but Kirigiri figures that it’s probably easier to read hands over lips.

                It’s just as Kirigiri’s only free hour is about to end when Fukawa stands up from where she’s sitting at a nearby table and approaches, watching Kirigiri’s gloved hands form the signs. Fukawa lingers for a moment in silence and though Kirigiri spots her, she doesn’t look away from the video until it ends a minute later; turning to Fukawa, she smiles her characteristic fishhook smile.

                “Good afternoon,” She greets briefly, removing the buds from her ear.

                Fukawa doesn’t say anything and she instead stands there, still dumbfounded that Kirigiri’s even trying for her, clutching a different novel than the week prior to her chest. Kirigiri’s smile eventually fades, and slowly, Fukawa mutters, “Wh-why are you trying f-for someone like me?” She looks utterly dumbfounded still, as if she didn’t believe that Kirigiri would continue trying after the first few days. “I-it’s a burden, isn’t it?!”

                “I’d like to get to know you.” Kirigiri answers, ignoring the latter comment. She turns her attention back to the videos listed and clicks on one of the suggested ones. Before it loads, she begins practicing signs again, but she manages to forget one of them and pauses awkwardly as she attempts to remember.

                Her lips keep forming the meaning of the symbol that she’s trying to remember how to create with her hands, and Fukawa watches for a sole moment before her shaky hand moves away from the book she’s clutching and forms the sign. Kirigiri’s eyes flicker over to Fukawa and she copies the symbol; the two stare at each other for a few slow seconds before Fukawa’s hand wraps back around the book she was holding up with the other. She apologizes and grumbles that it’s a nuisance, what with Kirigiri _wanting_ to be around her.

                Kirigiri doesn’t question why Fukawa thinks that (maybe, though, Fukawa doesn’t like her nor anyone else, and Kirigiri finds that reasonable), but she pulls out the chair from the table next to her in front of an unused computer that’s on the login screen and motions for Fukawa to sit down next to her. Fukawa doesn’t move, standing still, her gaze shifting to the side.

                Kirigiri wonders why Fukawa seems to have such a terrible persecution complex. Kirigiri can tell by the way the girl stands, walks, and stammers as she speaks in her broken style that there’s something emotionally amiss with Fukawa.

                Though, maybe, if Kirigiri makes even more of an attempt to befriend Fukawa and find out more about her, Fukawa will eventually mellow out a bit and maybe, _maybe_ be grateful for a friend or someone to talk to – for some reason, that seems farfetched, but Kirigiri’s inner curiosity blatantly refuses to allow her to even give up on Fukawa without learning about her.

                Fukawa leaves, muttering something that Kirigiri can’t quite catch.

                The bell rings about five minutes later, and Kirigiri logs off and packs up before heading off to her next class.

 

                She’s just about to leave school for the day when she passes by Fukawa, who is being mobbed by a bunch of curious students hounding her about why she won’t talk, and others that are seemingly poking fun at her for whatever reason. Kirigiri pauses in the hallway, her heels clicking on the tile as she abruptly stops, and then she makes her way over to the group and pushes her way past the audience that’s gathered.

                Fukawa is in the center of the crowd, her eyes locked directly at the ground, her head down, her shoulders slumped. The small black bag she owns is draped over her shoulder, sitting on the opposite hip, and she’s got a textbook pressed against her chest and both arms wrapped around it, forming an X shape.

                The students that have practically shoved Fukawa against the nearby lockers break up a little bit when she steps into the center of their disorganized and misshapen circle. Kirigiri doesn’t hesitate to stick up for Fukawa; maybe, somewhere inside, she feels bad for the poor author constantly being hounded by students who lack respect for personal space. She has the tendency to internalize her emotions, and while it doesn’t show on her face, she doesn’t enjoy seeing anyone being hurt or harassed or worse; she thinks that maybe, that’s one of the reasons behind the fact that she’s an aspiring detective – well, that, as well as her family’s influence.

                “Please leave,” She requests flatly, emotionlessly, as the group of students cast her a quizzical stare. She notices Fukawa’s eyes are trained on her, and she forms her next sentence both on her hands and her lips, “I must speak with Fukawa-san.”

                The students begin to disperse; several of them stare back at the two girls in utter confusion, but eventually they leave. Fukawa grumbles again, and Kirigiri can only catch the word “idiots” spill from the former’s mouth.

                Kirigiri doesn’t say anything else.

                She simply turns her back to Fukawa and begins to stride away. She stops dead a moment later, turning around, her hair flying around her back as she faces Fukawa from a few feet off. Kirigiri signs a simple goodbye before turning away again and proceeding to leave.

                When she looks out of the corner of her eye as she rounds a turn, Fukawa is glaring at the ground, shoving her textbook in her locker. For some reason, as if she’s aware Kirigiri is watching, she signs a quick “bye” to herself and then slams the locker shut.

 

                


	3. Chapter 3

                School, for everyone, lets out at around 3:30pm. It takes Kirigiri around half an hour to walk home, and she rarely, if ever, makes stops along the way. The last time she made a stop somewhere else was back a few months ago, when her close friend Naegi decided to walk home with her and later chose to stop at a nearby convenience store.

                But today, she didn’t make a long detour or stop at any location for more than a minute.

She considered asking her father – the school’s principal, one of the very _few_ members of the family who lacked interest in becoming a detective – if he knew of any Japanese Sign Language clubs that would start up soon, or if he knew if it was somehow possible for her to learn from an actual JSL interpreter. Of course, she’d have to wait for him to come home first.

Kirigiri makes her way to her room and shuts her door, sitting at her desk and pulling out her books and other materials. Today, she’s got little time to practice, as she’s got an important test coming up soon and she knows that she absolutely _has_ to study for it.

About thirty minutes into her study session, her phone screen lights up with an alert telling her she has a new message. She presses the pen a little harder into the paper as she quickly finishes her last thought before it escapes her, and then she sits back and checks it. It’s from Naegi.

_“did you talk to the new transfer student?”_

_Transfer student…?_

Though most people would reply, Kirigiri decides to set her phone down for the time being, as she doesn’t want to get distracted. Not a second after she places the device back onto the oak wood of the desk, Naegi sends her another message.

_“i think her name was fukawa-san and she doesnt talk to any1 and maizono-san says that shes a really popular author”_

The way Naegi sends his messages always slightly irritates her, as he doesn’t punctuate over half of the time and he does ridiculous things like shortening words by using numbers. She doesn’t let it bother her too much, as Kuwata, if he does text her, is far worse.

 _She’s a transfer student?_ Kirigiri ponders this for a moment. _Ah, I see…_ This makes far too much sense; that’s why she’s never seen Fukawa before, that’s why no one seems to know that Fukawa is deaf, that’s why there’s no JSL interpreter other than the fact that Fukawa herself seems to not want one, that’s why everyone hounds her about why she won’t talk and pokes fun at her, because she’s transferred from another school and she’s completely unknown for who she is. She’s “the girl who won’t talk”, she’s “the shy girl”, she’s this and that and everything ever said about her is a misconception.

 _“I’ve spoken with her, and yes, she is an author. How long ago did she transfer to our school?”_ Kirigiri sends, and she assumes Naegi must be staring at his phone currently because the reply is almost immediate.

_“no way?? did she talk to you? she doesnt talk to any1 else”_

He doesn’t answer her question until his next message, which arrives a minute after the previous.

_“um i think shes been here for a little more than a week bcuz i have math with her”_

She’s fairly lucky, Kirigiri thinks, that she’s transferred near the beginning of the term. It’s currently the fifth week since school started up, and already Kirigiri’s advanced classes are holding important tests.

_“I see. She is a deaf student, and given the way she speaks and acts, she’s rather cynical and judgmental of others. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to get done.”_

The next message she receives from him is an “oh”, and that’s that. Kirigiri continues with her studying without further interruption.

 

When her father gets home, Kirigiri’s head snaps up and away from her binder. The front door shuts and moments later, there’s a knock at her door. After announcing that it was okay for him to enter, he did, and the two greeted each other.

The first thing he asks her is if he’s interrupting her studying, to which she deflects by stating she has questions for him.

The two speak for a while. Apparently it’ll soon be possible for their school to start a JSL club, because despite Fukawa’s fervent arguing, he’s insisted upon her having an interpreter follow her throughout the school day. Kirigiri notes that such actions will irritate Fukawa to no end, but she doesn’t state such aloud as it seems the interpreter has already been hired. Fukawa has been failing most of her classes and he hypothesizes that the reason why is because Fukawa can only pick up so much on her own through lip-reading.

Though she’s plenty aware she shouldn’t pry, she can’t help but inquire as to why exactly Fukawa transferred schools.

The moment the two words, _“Genocider Syo”_ slip from her father’s mouth, she understands the reason for the switch. The most recent incident happened very close to Fukawa’s old school, and naturally, most of the parents had pulled their kids from school and transferred them to other locations. It’s no surprise that Fukawa’s own family had done the same, clearly concerned for their daughter’s safety… but they’ve missed a rather important detail.

“Genocider Syo… only kills males.” Kirigiri points out in a monotonous fashion, and her father nods hesitantly. Her arms crossed over her chest, she leans back against her chair, lost in thought for a moment. Maybe the reason why Fukawa is so cynical, so quick to judge, so curt, is simply because of the incident – no, that makes no sense, at least not in the way Kirigiri sees it; the disturbing death of another student couldn’t _possibly_ cause Fukawa to be so scornful right off of the bat. More or less, she should be more likely to be afraid. To Kirigiri, it seems as if Fukawa has had this problem far before the most recent murder occurred, and so the girl shoves the thought out of her brain. Such a quick character change… shouldn’t be possible, right? Then again, with such drastic mental trauma, maybe it is…?

Kirigiri spins in her chair and faces her desk again, reviewing her psychology notes even though that’s not the topic she should be studying. She figures she’s done all she can for the time being on the previous subject she attempted, anyway. Without another word, her father leaves the room, assuming that Kirigiri’s too busy to talk now.

She’s trying to analyze why Fukawa acts the way she does, but she’s got too many theories, and eventually she gives up and goes to bed.

 

They have a conversation again in the car on the way to school. Her father always drives her, and even if Kirigiri is early because of that, it gives her time to speak with teachers if the need arises. Their conversation is rather short-lived, although they do discuss Kirigiri’s conversations with Fukawa. There’s not much to say about the topic, but her father states that he’s grateful for Kirigiri’s attempts to make friends with Fukawa. Kirigiri doesn’t respond.

Sometimes when she arrives, Ishimaru is already there, helping out the workers in the office sort out papers, and sometimes he goes to the classrooms to help out teachers there. Today is no exception; however she hardly even gives him a passing glance because her mind is somewhere else.

The new JSL interpreter is a female, rather old, and quite short. She’s kindly and when Kirigiri signs “hello” to her, the lady grins widely and signs back. They talk for a while; Kirigiri picks up new teachings from her, as the elder tells her stories both verbally and with her hands.

When the bell rings, Kirigiri signs goodbye politely and then makes her way towards her classes.

 

She’s sure she did well on that too-important test, though she doubts her answers on a few of the questions. The air of doubt soon subsides after she reviews her notes to check to see if she was correct or not; she knows she got at least two problems incorrect, but that’s to be expected because she’s not a perfect student.

After a few more classes, Kirigiri heads up to the roof for lunch. She’s always there although she usually eats sitting against the fence lining the roof, as the other students that sit up there in the bright daylight aren’t people she’d associate with. Sometimes, she sees some of her friends up there, but today isn’t one of those days.

Halfway through lunch, she sees two people she rarely associates with make their way to the roof; Komaeda and Hinata, she recalls. By now, she’s finished her small meal and is sitting with her notebook on her lap, getting started early on homework that she doesn’t want to do later. Komaeda’s chatting about how he “talked” to Fukawa, and by the expression on his face and the gestures he makes with his hands, she can tell that he’s going on a spiel again and she can only guess that it’s about Fukawa’s cynical and curt nature. He’s probably even going on about how she should try to change, or something of the like (Kirigiri has only talked to him once or twice, and she bases that claim off of rumours she’s heard about him).

The two pass her by without even realizing she’s there, and Kirigiri turns her attention back to her assignment. When lunch ends, she’s only got a few more questions left to answer, so she packs away her things and makes her way to her next class.

               

                She doesn’t see Fukawa again until the end of the day. When Kirigiri _does_ see her, Fukawa is at her locker, and _boy_ does she look pissed. Kirigiri knows that it’s because of the JSL interpreter that’s been following Fukawa all day (or, she assumes that the kindly elder had been doing so), and so she doesn’t even try to ask.

                Nevertheless, Kirigiri wants to at least get a ‘hello’ in, yet as she approaches, she immediately takes a surprised step back when Fukawa practically snarls at her.

                Kirigiri signs a “hello” and then an offer for Fukawa to study with her today after school. She knows that Fukawa isn’t doing well, and the least she figures she can do is help, especially since the girl probably won’t ask anyone at all.

                Fukawa growls out a curt, “What, is your _father_ pushing you to offer?!”

                There’s a look of utter hatred in her eyes. Kirigiri’s expression remains unchanged; she just stands there, one hand clutching the strap of her bag, the other at her side, her eyes trained on Fukawa. She ignores the comment about her father “pushing her into offering”.

                “I am only offering. There’s no need to get so angry.” Kirigiri’s voice is unwavering and she speaks with a calm collectiveness that makes Fukawa’s glare temporarily disappear, if only for a mere second.

                Fukawa storms off in a fit of rage.

                _She most likely blames me for the fact that she now has an interpreter following her. Perhaps it is because the woman draws attention to her…_ Pondering this, Kirigiri decides that she’s just going to go home and relax for a bit.

               

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

                It’s almost exactly a month until Fukawa even begins to cast Kirigiri passing glances. The former has made a point of staying away from Kirigiri, but the latter doesn’t pay any mind to it. Even if Fukawa blatantly refuses to be around her anymore, Kirigiri has already started to learn sign language, and she’s not going to quit now.

                The JSL club started up two weeks prior to the current day. There aren’t many students at all; only three or four, and the club meets once a week and the number of students fluctuated from the first week to the second, but Kirigiri is always there. She’s the one trying the hardest, and that’s rather obvious to the other students.

                It’s late at night and she can’t sleep. She’s sitting in the darkness of her room, tucked underneath the covers with her hair splayed out behind her over the mattress and pillow. Her arms are up and she’s holding her phone above her head, idly texting Naegi, who is usually always asleep a little bit after ten. It’s an hour past that time, three minutes past eleven, but she’s pretty sure by all of the uncorrected typos and random spaces in between whole words that he’s definitely about to crash.

                _“fuk awa-chan com p laned the other day that u didnt like her and that u were disgusted b y her so u elft”_

Kirigiri assumes that “elft” means “left” and quickly deciphers the other broken words before she thinks about the meaning of the message. She’s confused; Fukawa’s been the one avoiding Kirigiri, and now Fukawa’s _complaining_ about Kirigiri not talking to her? The latter shakes her head and sighs, deciding that she won’t think too hard on the topic.

                _“Is that so? She has been avoiding me for the past month, so I would never have assumed that she would say something like that.”_

_”she ws muttering alot to hers elf and i mana ged to hear tha t”_

_“Your typing is getting more and more incoherent. Perhaps you should go to bed for the night.”_

_“u should tlk 2 her aga in. yo u guys wer friends rig h t?”_

Kirigiri pauses upon reading the word “friends”. She never thought they were friends and she doubts Fukawa thought so; Kirigiri was, of course, _trying_ to get to that point, but thus far they’ve only been insignificant acquaintances who pass by each other in the hallways sometimes. But… Fukawa didn’t see _her_ as a friend either, right?

                _“kir igiri-sa n im going to bed now goo d nithg”_

                Kirigiri doesn’t see a need to respond to that. She simply powers off her phone, leaving her in a pitch-dark room only lit by moonlight streaming in through the blinds, and then she sets the device on the corner of her nightstand.  Rolling onto her right side, she faces her window, and then she pulls the comforter over her shoulder and sighs deeply. She doesn’t understand Fukawa at all, and she doubts anyone truly can.

 

                Fukawa spots her in the library the next day. She’s still studying sign language; the JSL interpreter has given her better printed materials to use, which Kirigiri is incredibly grateful for. Kirigiri can feel Fukawa’s eyes trained on her like that of a hawk stalking its prey, and then the latter slowly inches towards where Kirigiri is sitting.

                “W-why are you still doing that?!” She practically shouts, drawing attention to the table that they’re by. Fukawa is glaring as she waits for a response, and clearly, she won’t take something simple as an answer. Of course, Kirigiri’s not going to lie to her and make up some incredibly detail-ridden response that might make Fukawa decently pleased. Kirigiri’s reason _is_ simple, and she simply signs as well as murmurs,

                “I am trying because we’re friends.” Naegi had convinced her that the two were friends early this morning, even if they didn’t acknowledge it, when he had gone on about how friends do nice things _like learning sign language_ for each other.

                Fukawa’s eyes fly open wide and she stutters, although Kirigiri isn’t sure what exactly she intends to say. She looks far too shocked for such a simple response; meanwhile, Kirigiri is straight-faced and stoic-looking as always, simply watching Fukawa try to piece together her words.

                “F-f-friends?!” She stammers, backing up a few steps. “W-w-what makes you t-think that we’re --?!”

                Kirigiri simply blinks and remains calm, despite the fact that Fukawa is showing a range of emotions from complete confusion to being utterly dumbfounded to growling something inaudible under her breath and looking upset. Eventually, the aspiring detective signs, “In actuality, I would _like_ to be friends.”

                It apparently takes Fukawa a minute to register this. She’s still in disbelief and that’s clear by the look on her face. Kirigiri guesses that Fukawa’s wondering something like… _“Why would anyone want to be friends with me?”_  She doesn’t know or understand Fukawa as well as she would have hoped for as long as they’ve known each other, so she doesn’t have anything to back that claim, minus the way Fukawa is currently acting of course.

                And then, Fukawa simply turns and walks away. Kirigiri sighs inwardly, thinking that perhaps she’s somehow offended Fukawa, but the latter then turns and glances over her shoulder. She yells out, “Y-you’d better be a g-good friend, then!” And then, she marches out of the library, tightly clasping a novel to her chest, her braids bumping against her calves as she stomps away.

                Kirigiri closes her book and smiles such a tiny smile that one wouldn’t notice it on first glance. She then stands and puts away her materials and makes her way out of the library. She can see Fukawa retreating down the hallway, and though she figures she should probably follow and make another attempt at getting to know the author, instead, she pivots on her heels and makes her way towards her next class.


	5. Chapter 5

                In the morning, she passes by Fukawa in the hallway. The latter forces a smile as Kirigiri approaches, shoving her books into her locker and taking others out. She seems to be a lot… happier, somehow, since yesterday.

                The first thing Kirigiri offers is for Fukawa to study with her. She’s not sure if Fukawa’s grades are still suffering, but she figures that as “friends” that they should at least do something together, especially if it’s beneficial to the both of them. She’s not sure, exactly, how actual friends _work_. Are they supposed to see movies together or go shopping or something? Is that it? She’s going off of what she’s seen from movies and television at this point.

                They set up plans to meet up after school and then go about their day.

                When they are finally able to see each other on their off hour, Fukawa is sitting at the desk reading a novel. She usually reads during this hour and while Kirigiri expects to be ignored or unnoticed, Fukawa’s eyes raise from where they are locked with the page and the corners of her mouth twitch. Kirigiri can’t tell if she’s trying to smile or if it’s just a coincidence.

                Kirigiri takes a seat without asking for invitation first, but Fukawa never bothers to complain about it. The two spend most of the time in silence; Kirigiri works on homework, and Fukawa reads, that is until they’re interrupted by none other than Naegi and… surprisingly enough, Togami is beside him.

                Naegi’s carrying some type of poster board tucked underneath his arm. After a few moments, the rest of their class shuffles in and takes up most of the computers available, and Kirigiri concludes that the two are working on some type of project together. Fukawa’s face is hidden behind her book and she’s simply staring over the pages at the two boys.

                Naegi takes up the opportunity to introduce Togami and Fukawa, since the rest of them already know each other in some way. Neither one of the two say much to each other; Togami makes a “hmph” sound upon Fukawa stammering out a nervous “H-hello” right after Naegi encourages the two to say hi.

                It doesn’t take long until the two are ushered away from “chattering with friends” by a teacher, and Kirigiri turns back to Fukawa and forces a tiny, fishhook smile. Fukawa is staring after Togami with a frown, however, and then Kirigiri’s head slowly lowers back to her notebook and she continues to scrawl on the pages.

\---

                Fukawa flat-out states that she would prefer for Kirigiri not to go over to Fukawa’s house, and so the two walk to the former’s home at a slow pace. It’s difficult for the two to talk unless they’re looking at each other, and even if Fukawa can speak perfectly fine and Kirigiri can hear her, the latter can’t say anything unless she looks at Fukawa and Fukawa looks at her. It’s difficult, of course, to walk when not facing forward, and Kirigiri doesn’t bother trying it.

                She does find out, however, that Fukawa is already acquainted with Togami. Well, not necessarily acquainted… the two have science together, and they were partnered for a lab earlier in the week. By the way Fukawa speaks of him so fondly even though Kirigiri is aware that Fukawa and Togami are definitely _not_ friends, given their actions in the library and the way Togami glowered at her, Kirigiri can tell that Fukawa has an obvious crush on the taller blonde.

                Her stomach twists a bit. She thinks it’s because she knows that Togami isn’t exactly the… kindest person on the planet, and she passes it off as her finally accepting that she and Fukawa are friends and that friends should protect each other from ending up dating terrible people.

Actually, Kirigiri isn’t entirely sure why she feels only a tiny bit funny whenever Fukawa begins to speak of Togami.

                She ignores the feeling and the two continue on their walk. Kirigiri pulls slightly ahead of Fukawa, her footsteps falling near the edge of the sidewalk. Fukawa, meanwhile, follows behind, her eyes locked at the ground that passes beneath Kirigiri’s heels.

                When they get to Kirigiri’s home, the latter opens the door politely and ushers a timid-looking Fukawa inside. The dark-haired author seems unsure, and she glances around nervously before she enters. The two girls stop for a minute to remove their shoes, and as the door shuts behind them, they step further into the dwelling. Kirigiri turns momentarily; Fukawa’s eyes shift towards her face, and then Kirigiri signs,

                _“Would you like anything to drink?”_

                Fukawa shakes her head, braids shifting slightly and brushing over her ankles. Kirigiri wonders how long it took for Fukawa’s hair to grow to such a length, and she momentarily wonders what Fukawa’s hair looks like when it is free of the braids and able to flow loosely around her thin frame.

                _“Where would you like to study?”_ Kirigiri signs, but Fukawa’s shoulders very subtly lift into a shrug. _“Is my room alright?”_ She then questions, hands slowly forming the symbols she needs as she recalls them. Fukawa half-nods, but she glances around nervously at the unfamiliar space around her. Kirigiri simply motions for the other to follow behind her, and when they reach Kirigiri’s room, she sits at her desk and pulls out several notebooks.

                Fukawa’s eyes are focused right on the aspiring detective’s face, as if studying her for a reaction of some type. Kirigiri verbally states that it is okay for Fukawa to sit on her bed if she pleases, or if she needs, Kirigiri can easily move another chair into the room. The author idles over to the bed and sits on the very corner of it, only moving back a bit so that her legs dangle off of the edge. She’s carrying with her a small backpack that looks like it hardly has anything in it, and Kirigiri’s assumptions prove to be correct when Fukawa pulls out exactly three one-subject spiral notebooks. A fourth is peeking out of the top of the bag, but Fukawa’s hand hardly grazes it.

                Kirigiri cannot help but wonder about the contents of the untouched spiral.

                At first, they begin working through mathematics, and Kirigiri moves onto the mattress next to her newfound studying pal with her textbook. They are enrolled in the same math class, and Kirigiri feels just a bit proud that she’s been able to help Fukawa understand a few difficult questions.

                The two later find that their study session has really turned into a homework session, but neither complains. Kirigiri is actually having a bit of fun spending time with someone other than Naegi for once, though she most likely wouldn’t readily admit that.

                When it comes time for the two to do homework for their Japanese language class, Kirigiri’s father has just gotten home. He saunters past Kirigiri’s room and upon seeing Fukawa, he smiles softly and continues walking. Kirigiri doesn’t bat an eyelash, and the two go back to working. It turns out Fukawa is extremely good at the current subject. It doesn’t come as a surprise to Kirigiri, but she does find it particularly helpful.

                It is nearly six o’clock when Fukawa’s mother sends her a flurry of text messages angrily demanding to know where her daughter is. The literary girl makes a low grunting noise, most likely of irritation, and slowly texts back.

                They don’t spend the rest of the time studying.

                Instead, Kirigiri finds out several interesting things about Fukawa. Fukawa is hemophobic. Fukawa used to be bullied often, and Kirigiri knows that she still is even now. She bases the latter claim off of what she has seen as she’s passed by Fukawa, and the gossip she’s heard supports that. Fukawa bases characters in novels off of real-world people.

                To say the least, Fukawa is _interesting_.

                Kirigiri wasn’t directly told these things, of course. Fukawa had accused her of “prying for information about her” so that she could “spread around personal stories and humiliate her”, and no matter what, Fukawa had refused to begin to believe that Kirigiri genuinely was interested in getting to know Fukawa better.

                The first thing, she mistakenly found out when she got up for a moment to help her father prepare dinner while he used the restroom. She had gone about chopping vegetables in the narrow kitchen when Fukawa, who had followed her out of the room, mistakenly bumped into her just as Kirigiri had lifted the knife and began to walk towards the sink with it. The impact caused her already light grip on the utensil to further weaken, which in turn made the knife clatter to the floor, not failing to graze over the skin just above Kirigiri’s knee. The cut was not at all deep and only started to bleed a minute or two after the impact, and it was as Fukawa dashed out of the room with her hand over her nose and mouth that Kirigiri realized that her friend must be hemophobic.

                Of course, the girl immediately patched up the cut with a small Band-Aid after her father resumed cooking dinner. He questioned if Fukawa would stay over, however the latter informed him that she would not.

                It made Kirigiri feel a tiny bit of sadness, but perhaps they would be able to spend time together later on.

                The second thing, she found out after psychoanalyzing Fukawa. She had clearly stated that Fukawa’s persecution complex and harsh attitude and distrust towards others had to be because of an underlying cause of bullying, or perhaps an abusive relationship. She informed that it was subconscious, something that had developed as a result of trauma, and that Fukawa may or may not be aware of it. If she is, she may not be able to stop it. The look in Fukawa’s eyes affirmed Kirigiri’s suspicions that Fukawa was once bullied, and often. She then states that writing novels must function as an escape for Fukawa, so that she can leave the terrible things in her life behind and live out a world in which there could possibly be a better life.

                She stops there, because Fukawa not only looks offended, but she’s showing a fearful expression as well. Kirigiri apologizes briefly; she did not mean to pry, she says, as she was only curious and desired to get to know Fukawa. Kirigiri assures that there was no malicious intent behind her earlier actions, and she promises that she would never hurt Fukawa.

                Which is strange for her, because she’s never promised something like that. She’s never truly hurt another person, either, but never has she ever stated to anyone at all that she would never hurt them. Kirigiri believes it’s because Fukawa needs the reassurance, because Fukawa is… broken, it seems; broken into a million pieces that are being held together with only flimsy tape. A structure that will eventually break apart until there is nothing left.

                Kirigiri doesn’t want to see Fukawa broken any more than she already is. She suddenly feels extremely protective of the girl.

                The third thing, Kirigiri found out when Fukawa’s parent had arrived to fetch her. The untouched spiral had fallen out of her bag when it tipped over, and it opened to a page in which a character that was strikingly similar to Togami was conversing with a woman that knew JSL. Kirigiri had read the page quickly before Fukawa could scoop up the spiral, hurriedly jam it into her bag along with her other supplies, and flee the room.

                The character that knew JSL – female, by the looks of it – couldn’t possibly be based off of Kirigiri, right?

                Kirigiri signs goodbye to Fukawa before the latter leaves the house, and Fukawa mutters out a flat and hesitant “goodbye” in return before leaving.

                During dinner, Kirigiri becomes suddenly lost in thought. She wonders about Fukawa and her past, she wonders if Fukawa might have had any scars as a result of something such as depression (which, she reasons, would not be unheard of in a person with a seemingly traumatic past), and then her mind drifts to other thoughts.

                She wonders what Fukawa would look like if a genuinely happy smile formed on her lips, ponders if Fukawa would smile like that at something she said, and then she questions if she could be someone Fukawa could trust no matter what. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=2789  
> The above link is my source for the fact that high-school students take a Japanese language class that is required. Hopefully the source is accurate! 
> 
> Headcanons:  
> Fukawa bases characters in novels off of real people.  
> Kirigiri enjoys psychoanalyzing people.
> 
> ((I have a friend who enjoys psychoanalyzing others, and I hope my description for Kirigiri's psychoanalysis was at least semi-accurate.))


	6. Chapter 6

                She was so scared.

                She never expected the knife to fall, never expected it to slice Kirigiri’s skin open. She never expected the blood and she’s positive she made a fool out of herself by booking it out of the room as fast as she could. She didn’t want to pass out, didn’t want Kirigiri to see her other side. Kirigiri was the one person who was never rude to her, never talked as though she didn’t exist, never told her she was disgusting or stupid, never bullied her. Fukawa wasn’t going to let Kirigiri know about Syo, not yet, not ever.

                She was so scared that in that instant, the newfound friendship would come crashing down.

                She had breathed an internal sigh of relief when she didn’t pass out and when Genocider Syo didn’t reveal herself.

                Fukawa outright refuses to ruin the relationship. Kirigiri is her first friend, the first person that she’s probably actually appreciated to a degree. Kirigiri is the first person that tried for her sake – no matter how much Fukawa shoved her away, Kirigiri came back, Kirigiri was there, Kirigiri continually chased her until Fukawa gave in and accepted the former into her life.

                It was… nice. Refreshing, actually. Fukawa would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy Kirigiri’s company. She didn’t understand why someone as _disgusting_ as her was so well-liked by Kirigiri, but she never questioned it outright.

                When she had been at Kirigiri’s home the other night, right before she left, she left a small scrap of paper with her phone number scrawled on it sitting on the corner of the desk. At the time, she didn’t know how to say _here’s my phone number so you can text me_ , so she simply sneaked leaving it there. Fukawa knows that “friends” often exchange phone numbers to keep in contact, but she has a feeling that she’s jumped the gun. They’d _just_ became “friends”, according to what Kirigiri had said (well, Kirigiri simply stated they were friends, but that wasn’t long ago), and Fukawa has this pressing feeling that she’s done something completely _stupid._ Maybe, she thinks, it’s too early in their friendship to even _think_ about exchanging phone numbers.

                Another part of her hopes that Kirigiri had found the number and would text her soon. Fukawa knew that Kirigiri had a phone simply from passing by the seat of that Naegi kid and seeing him texting a contact with the name “Kirigiri” from underneath the desk.

                On Saturday, Fukawa rolls out of bed around ten in the morning and reaches towards her nightstand, picking up her glasses. She squints as she holds them up to the light and tries to see if they’re dirty; they are, there are little smudges here and there, but if she wants to clean them she has to get up and walk to the kitchen where she’s left her cleaning rag. The task requires her to put on the glasses anyway, and she’s not sure why she checked them the way she did, since she’d immediately spot the smudges when she put them on.

                She slips her glasses on her face and pushes them up onto the bridge of her nose before checking her phone. No one ever messages her anyway, and usually she’s got it off because she only needs it to contact her family (after the _incident_ at her old school, her folks had _insisted_ that she always keep her phone on her, which Fukawa found absolutely pointless – but then again, outright saying that in a way, she _caused_ the incident, was a horrid idea), but she’s had reason to keep it on and plugged in all night.

                Fukawa can’t pretend that she and Kirigiri aren’t friends. She can’t say that she doesn’t _want_ Kirigiri to text her, because she _does_ , even if that’s probably a stupid thought and she should just stop hoping that someone is going to like her for _her_ one day and not for her novels because she’s stupid and disgusting and –

                -- there’s a message from an unknown number.

                Holy _shit_ , Kirigiri _actually messaged her_.

                _“Hello, Fukawa. I see you’ve left your number on my desk.”_

                There’s another message below it.

                _“This is Kirigiri, but I have a feeling you’ve figured that out.”_

                The text is slightly blurred because of the fingerprints and dirt specs on her glasses, but she can still read the words on the screen. At first, Fukawa is far too _shocked_ to reply, and then as she slowly types out her message, she gets too nervous that she’s going to say something absolutely idiotic, and she sets her phone down with the message still on-screen and goes to work on her computer.

                She reaches into the bag next to her laptop and pulls out the spiral notebook that Kirigiri had accidentally read a page or so of. She decides that instead of working on her current romance novel – which, honestly, she isn’t too fond of – she’s going to work on the one she started in the middle of math a few days ago.

                That Naegi kid was sure nice to attempt to introduce her and Togami, but she already _knows_ him, and she doesn’t need Naegi’s goddamn help getting to know that gorgeous character.

                Her current project is about a shy, friendless girl who is deaf. The girl is, quite obviously, based off of her. The girl meets another girl who just happens to know sign language, and the two become fast friends. The deaf girl gets sick of being picked on constantly because she’s not the most beautiful human being on the planet, and she cuts herself often (something Fukawa wouldn’t dare _do_ because of the _blood_ ). One day, the deaf girl meets a handsome blonde rich man and they soon fall in love. The girl who knows sign language helps the two to talk and together, the girl and boy begin to make the constantly-bullied deaf girl happier. That’s when a sadistic serial killer tries to tear the couple apart.

                That’s all she’s got planned; Fukawa’s only written perhaps the first twenty or so pages and they’re sloppily done in her opinion, so she’s going to re-work them while she has the weekend to do so. She’s then reminded about the state her glasses are in, sighs, and slowly makes her way out of her room and downstairs.

                No one is in the family room, or the kitchen neighboring it, and she books it to the latter room, locates the cloth folded neatly on the counter where she’d left it, and picks it up and runs back upstairs and to her room. She shuts the door perhaps a little _too_ hard, but she really, _really_ doesn’t want to talk with any of her folks this morning. She _never_ wants to converse with them. She just wants to be alone in her own world, writing her novel and ignoring everyone else.

                Fukawa makes her way over to her desk again, sits down at her computer, takes her glasses off, and begins to clean them slowly and thoroughly with the cleaning cloth. Once they’re cleaned, she turns once in her chair and places the rag at the corner of her desk and then turns yet again to face her computer. Slipping the lenses on her face, she wakes her computer from sleep mode (which it is _always_ on when she’s not using it), and then she begins to type and edit what she’s already written directly on her computer.

\--

                It’s a few hours until she realizes that she still hasn’t sent her message to Kirigiri. By now, she’s reworked what she’s previously scrawled down in the notebook and she’s gotten a good few pages past the original draft, but now her mind has wandered from typing up a novel to texting the girl who is still learning sign language just to talk to her.

                She spins in her chair and looks over at the nightstand warily, as if her phone is going to attack her or something. Fukawa feels oddly nervous when she thinks about replying – Kirigiri’s going to judge what she sends, Kirigiri will hate her, Kirigiri will think Fukawa’s just as disgusting as Fukawa feels she is – but she pushes that sensation away and rises out of her seat and makes her way towards her phone.

                She then plops down on the edge of her bed and fiddles with the device until she gets back to her messaging inbox. The words _“You actually messaged me?”_ are still on the screen in the little text box, and Fukawa hesitates for about a minute before she finally moves her shaky thumb over to the _send_ button and presses it.

                The text sends and she instantly regrets it. God, that was the _stupidest_ thing she could have sent! Why _wouldn’t_ Kirigiri message her? Fukawa left her damned number on the corner of the desk! Kirigiri actually seems to _enjoy_ Fukawa’s presence, so why wouldn’t Kirigiri send her a message?! Geez, she’s so –

                -- and suddenly, her thoughts stop dead. Kirigiri wanted to be friends with her. Kirigiri says they’re friends. Kirigiri likes her. Kirigiri _likes_ her. _Kirigiri Kyouko,_ who is not-at-all popular and almost as friendless as she is, likes _Fukawa Touko_.

                No matter how many times Fukawa repeats that in her head, it makes little to no sense.

                _Why_ would anyone actually enjoy the Fukawa’s presence? _Why_? Maybe Kirigiri is faking it, she thinks, and maybe Kirigiri is just going to abandon her and make fun of her and harass her and use her and then throw her away?

                But, Kirigiri doesn’t seem like the type to do that… then again, Kirigiri might just be an incredible actress.

                Those thoughts are shoved right out of her mind when her phone buzzes softly in her hands, causing her to jump and let out a shocked squeal. She glances expectantly at the screen and sure enough, there’s a new message from Kirigiri.

                _“Of course. You had left what was clearly your phone number on my desk, and I could only assume you wanted me to message you.”_

                Fukawa doesn’t know how exactly to respond, but… she’s happy. She’s really, really happy, and she doesn’t understand it because never once in her life has she ever felt so thrilled, not even when she heard that one of her novels was on the best-seller list for the first time.

                _“Do you happen to know if the school’s library carries any of your books?”_ The next message catches Fukawa off-guard. Her fingers pause over the screen and the corners of her lips curve into a frown.

                _“I have no idea.”_ She sends in response, wondering _why the hell_ Kirigiri would want to read what she’s written. Everyone knows she’s a novelist – she doubts there is anyone currently attending the school that doesn’t know who she is – so it’s obvious that Kirigiri would know, too, but she doesn’t understand why Kirigiri suddenly desires to read her novels.

                “ _Have you read one of my novels before?”_ She asks.

                _“I’ve never done so. I’m interested in what you have to write.”_

                _“Why?”_

                _“I may have read very little of your writing, but from what I have seen, I can conclude that it is excellent.”_

                Fukawa wonders why that compliment means so much more to her coming from Kirigiri than it does from anyone else, but perhaps that’s because Kirigiri is her first and only real friend. Either way, the compliment itself causes her to turn red, and she squirms for a mere moment before replying with,

                _“…thank you, but, that was just a draft.”_

                _“Then I hope to see the final version soon.”_

                Fukawa concludes that Kirigiri is far too kind to her, and she doesn’t understand it and she doesn’t try to. She’s still paranoid that Kirigiri’s just going to throw her out like an old rag one day, but she’s currently still stuck on the compliment, which she keeps re-reading over and over and wondering _why_. _Why_ is Kirigiri so nice to her? She doesn’t _deserve_ that and she knows it!

                So, Fukawa says that. She types out her question of why Kirigiri is so kind to her and then says she doesn’t deserve it, which earns her a lightning-quick reply of,

                “ _You deserve it. No one has the right to hurt someone else. Adding to that, you’re my friend, are you not? Friends are meant to be kind to each other.”_

                Fukawa freezes up again and then a slight smile forms on her lips. She places her phone on the corner of her nightstand again before standing up, moving back to her desk, sitting down in her chair again, and placing her fingers on the keyboard. She can’t focus on what she’s writing, however, and moments later she returns to her bed and continues to text Kirigiri with the same grin plastered on her face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kirigiri's idea of friendship comes from what Naegi's description of it is.   
> Thank u naeggs


	7. Chapter 7

Kirigiri decides that she really enjoys psychoanalyzing Fukawa. The latter doesn’t protest to it, and just by the way Fukawa talks (and types), lacks self-esteem, and inevitably retreats into her shell whenever Kirigiri gets too close, Kirigiri knows that Fukawa has suffered some type of damage beyond just bullying.

She doesn’t bring it up, however, and she doesn’t want to. She figures that Fukawa will tell her about her most-likely traumatic experiences once a deep and trusting bond is established between them. While Kirigiri does at least somewhat feel that she could trust Fukawa, she doubts Fukawa trusts her with much at all.

On Sunday, she heads to the public library to snag some books of Fukawa’s. The latter had sent Kirigiri a list of books and though brief, Kirigiri reasoned that if she really wanted, she could always look up a list of Fukawa’s novels. Initially, she’d wanted to receive the list from Fukawa to be sure that the literary girl would be alright with her reading those novels. She assumed that the listed novels were ones Fukawa was confident about and willing to show off. Kirigiri didn’t and doesn’t want to do something that would make Fukawa ignore her for a month.

Of course, with Fukawa being as popular as she is in the literary world, Kirigiri is only able to get her hands on one of the novels. The rest are checked out, and the hold list is incredibly long. She ends up being hold number two hundred thirty-nine on Fukawa’s most renowned book, and the library has at least six or seven copies of it.

The two girls have been texting all weekend thus far, even through Kirigiri’s homework Skype calls with Naegi. In one, Togami had been over, and the two needed Kirigiri’s help on their project. When Kirigiri had stopped in the middle of an explanation to pick up her phone and read what was on-screen, Naegi asked who she was so avidly texting. When Kirigiri responded, Togami looked utterly disgusted for a moment.

The problem was, Kirigiri knew at that time that Fukawa was interested in Togami. She knew and she still knows that they won’t work out. There was some feeling welling up inside of her that told her to never let the two even attempt a relationship, though she could not (and still can’t) name the feeling.

She’s been spacing out on the walk home. She doesn’t remember leaving the library at all; her feet are automatically and mechanically carrying her away from that location. Once she snaps fully out of her Fukawa-and-Togami-should-never-date-ever trance, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone. Amazingly, yesterday, they’d texted so much that her phone had died. Usually, it only gets to fifty percent, and then she plugs it in and goes to bed. It’s always off during school, unless she needs it for something.

Kirigiri lets Fukawa know that she’s gotten hold of one of Fukawa’s novels. Fukawa responds moments later with,

_“I cannot fathom why you would want to read the trash I write!”_

Kirigiri replies, _“I’m rather interested in what you’ve created. Besides, it can’t possibly be ‘trash’ if so many people enjoy it.”_

While waiting for a reply, she pulls back the novel’s hardback cover and begins to read the first page. She plans only to read the first page or so and then save it for until she gets home, but Kirigiri finds herself completely caught up in the words and imagery laid out perfectly on the page. She doesn’t take her eyes off of the pages unless she’s crossing the street or rounding a turn, but afterwards, her eyes snap back to the book.

The walking time for the library to home takes an hour and a half.

She’s on page 105. Either she’s been walking faster or reading slower, but it is difficult to read and walk at the same time, after all. At least, for her it is.

She climbs the brief set of steps to the doorway, heels clicking against the concrete, and she opens the door and lets herself in. Her father is home and she didn’t bother with locking the door because of this, but when she comes in and expects a hello of some type, she sees that he’s sitting down with files and paperwork and wonders what exactly he’s doing. Kirigiri assumes he didn’t finish work he had to get done and now he’s stuck with it and doing it last-minute before Monday rolls around, and so she carries on to her room and shuts her door.

When she finally makes it back to her phone, there are a few messages waiting for her.

_“Maybe they all just enjoy reading trash, then!”_

Kirigiri rolls her eyes.

_“I was in the car with my guardians and saw you walking by with your face buried in a novel.”_

_“Be careful and don’t be an idiot and get run over!”_

Kirigiri blinks as her thumb lifts off of the touch screen. That’s… incredibly out of character for Fukawa. She stares for a minute longer. The last message clearly hints that Fukawa cares about her to some degree, which causes a tiny smile to form on her lips.

_“I made it home just fine. You’re far more talkative when we’re not talking in-person.”_ Kirigiri sends back before sitting on the bed, realizing that she forgot to take her shoes off at the door (she’s definitely been too busy being distracted by the need to continue reading). She quickly removes them and places them at the corner of her bed before sitting back against the pillows and headboard and opening the book back up.

Ten pages in from where she’d left off, she gets another message. This time, her phone is on vibrate, and it’s sitting on her stomach so that she’ll feel it.

_“It’s easier to talk over text than in person, especially because I’m deaf. Do you have some kind of problem with it?!”_

There she goes. Kirigiri sighs inwardly and decides to change the subject.

_“I have no problem with you or anything about you whatsoever. I would like to point out that the novel I had my face ‘buried in’ was yours, and it is incredibly well-written. I’m honestly hooked.”_

It’s another half an hour until she gets a reply. By then, she’s so absorbed in the novel that she hardly felt it or heard the low buzzing sound. She makes a mental note to answer after she finishes the chapter, but she forgets about her phone upon finishing.

She’s never been a fan of romance novels, ever. She doesn’t often show appreciation for novels with a heavy romantic plot on top of the main plot. It’s not an understatement to say that she almost always reads darker novels, mystery novels, the like. She’s never read something with such a heavy romantic plot before but she’s enjoying it for some reason.

Another text message snaps her out of her trance, right in the middle of an overly-romantic date scene that probably ends in some type of eternal love confession. Kirigiri knows nothing about romance at all, and she only half-grasps the concepts of “cliché” romances.

_“kirigiri-san can u get on skype? we need help on the project again”_ From Naegi.

_“I don’t understand you at all.”_ From Fukawa.

Kirigiri manages to locate a bookmark in her desk drawer after she gets up to use the computer. She sets the novel aside and turns it on, logging into Skype moments later. A split second after she’s in, Naegi’s already calling her. She answers.

While she’s waiting for the image of him (and probably Togami) to appear, she quickly begins replying to Fukawa’s message.

_“I’m difficult to comprehend. I’m sorry for not replying sooner. I was far too caught up in your writing. Did you ever begin to type the one that you had in that notebook?”_

When she looks up, Naegi’s on-screen, and he’s grinning widely at her. She raises an eyebrow in question and sets her phone aside, and then it clicks that he watched her staring down at the device, rapidly typing out what she had to say. When she doesn’t say anything first, his voice streams through the speakers with a slight delay.

“Are you talking to Fukawa-san again?”

Kirigiri nods. Naegi’s grin widens. “Is Togami with you?” She tries to change the subject, because she has a feeling she knows what the brunette is going to say.

Naegi nods. “He’s in the bathroom, I think.” Naegi pauses and then looks around several times, and then whispers, “Do you have a crush on her?” For added effect, he forms a heart with his hands and places it in front of his chest.

“No.” Kirigiri answers flatly, although Naegi’s snickering, and she soon after realizes it’s because the comment made her blush. “No, we’re only friends.” Kirigiri repeats herself. She’d come out to him only a few months back, and he’s never teased her about the “pretty girls” or anything of the like, and he’s never asked her “who she has a crush on”. Kirigiri’s not the _type_ to have romantic feelings, she thinks, and she’s sure he knows that too.

This time, however, he doesn’t seem to believe her. She’s one hundred percent positive that she only sees Fukawa as a friend.

“Are you still learning sign?” Naegi asks with the same _stupid_ , knowing grin on his face. He doesn’t know anything, Kirigiri thinks, and he’s just teasing her.

“Yes.”

“Iiiiisn’t Fukawa deaf? Diiiiidn’t you want to learn sign to talk to her?” He drags out some of his words, his voice rising one note, his teasing tone carrying through the speakers and to her ears.

“I was curious to get to know her better, as all I’d heard about her was mere gossip. All of it was incorrect, by the way.”

“Kirigiri-san, is Fukawa-san pretty?”

“Well, yes.” Kirigiri answers flatly before she catches herself. “That doesn’t mean anything. Celes is pretty, Maizono is pretty --”

“But you don’t _talk_ to them!”

“Sometimes I partake in conversations with them, when we have classes together.”

Naegi mocks her for a second, and he looks like he’s about to say something more when Togami appears behind him and sits in a chair near the brunette. At that time, Kirigiri’s phone buzzes with another text message, which she quickly replies to and then brings up the topic at-hand. When Togami’s not looking, Naegi forms a heart with his fingers again and holds it in front of his chest. She glares at him. He stops, but only because Togami’s now facing the camera again.

After the Skype call ends, Kirigiri shuts down her computer and goes back to texting Fukawa while reading. She almost forgets to go and eat dinner after she informs her father that she’s got half of the chapter left and that she’ll be down when she finishes it. She only reads a few sentences of the next chapter before she remembers that -- oh, yeah -- she’s hungry, and with a brief sigh she sets aside the book and makes her way towards the kitchen.

At the end of the day, she bathes and goes to bed, but not before she informs Fukawa that she is going to sleep. The text she gets in response is,

_“Goodnight. I’ll see you around tomorrow or something.”_

_Or something._ Kirigiri repeats the last words in her mind before plugging in her almost-dead phone and curling up under the covers. She ends up waking up in the middle of the night, however, because her father is shaking her shoulders.

It’s almost midnight.

He leaves without explanation, seemingly in a panic. Kirigiri sits up and rubs her eyes, adjusting the strap of her tank top which has fallen off of her shoulder. Outside, lights are flashing in hues of red and blue, and her eyes widen as her room alternates between those colours. Once it clicks that something bad has happened, she throws aside the covers, scrambles out of bed, quickly puts on pajama bottoms, and dashes out into the hall and outside. The door is agape and her father’s hand is on it, but soon after she sees him pass by the window and run towards something.

On her way outside, Kirigiri smells the heavy stench of blood and rot, and as she steps towards where her father ran off, she sees a limp hand and a wrist run through with what looks like scissors. Immediately, her steps falter, and she slowly creeps towards the scene, peering over the caution tape set up by the authorities.

There’s a young man pinned against the wall, mouth hanging open in a silent scream, his wrists pinned up on either side of him by scissors. The phrase “Bloodstain Fever” is scrawled in blood on the side of the house. Immediately, it clicks that Genocider Syo was _here_ and had murdered a man right outside the house without either of the residents realizing. Obviously, however, the neighbors had noticed. Police vehicles surround the area, and just as Kirigiri is about to begin questioning them as to when, exactly, this happened, her father asks if Kirigiri could call a friend and ask to sleep over.

Kirigiri asks if both of them will be going as she makes her way inside to get her phone, and her father tells her he’ll only go if it’s okay with her friends. Kirigiri’s honestly got two friends she can call to ask about this and every other contact on her phone she isn’t close to.

She calls Fukawa first. There’s no response.

She calls Naegi afterwards and is met with a low groan of, “Kirigiri-san? Why are you calling so laaaate?” He drags out the last word as he yawns. She explains the situation, and he practically shouts that _of course_ she and her father can spend the night.

When her father drops by her room to ask, she says that they’ll be going to Naegi’s as unfortunately Fukawa is asleep, she thinks, and then she remembers that a phone call to a deaf girl is rather pointless. She sends a quick text to Fukawa -- _“Sorry for calling you so early. I hope I didn’t wake you up. I’ll explain the situation at school.”_ \-- and then she begins to pack a small overnight bag for Naegi’s house.

When the two make it to Naegi’s home, his sister is the first to the door, and she throws her arms around Kirigiri’s shoulders and she seems to be offering some type of comfort although Kirigiri doesn’t need much. She’s going to be a detective, she has to be able to handle this sort of thing, but her father is clearly unnerved.

Kirigiri shares a room with his sister (Naegi stops by his sister’s room, however, and says goodnight), and her father takes the couch. In the morning, Kirigiri answers her phone to find one message from Fukawa.

_“Sorry for not answering at all. I wasn’t able to last night.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely had to do that at the end. It was necessary. I'm sorry.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update: OCTOBER.  
> I'm so sorry everyone! D:   
> In other news, the theatre scene WILL NOT make complete (100%) sense until the very end. Fukawa's got goals, man. Because of my weird writing style, I like to make everything weirder than it needs to be. >.>

 

                A week after the occurrence of the nearby Genocider Syo incident, Kirigiri and her father finally decide to move back into their own house despite Naegi’s family protesting. To get to and from school, she and Naegi carpooled both ways, and while that was nice, Kirigiri missed walking home.

                Fukawa made a point in avoiding her all week, and Kirigiri still has no plausible explanation as to why. She reasons that perhaps it’s because Genocider Syo is what forced Fukawa’s family into moving and having her transfer schools so suddenly, but in that case, why avoid Kirigiri? The latter isn’t planning on sharing the absolutely horrific story with the world, let alone Fukawa (that, she reasons, would probably trigger bad memories on Fukawa’s side, something Kirigiri doesn’t want to see happen).

                She feels just a bit lonely and just a bit rejected as she types out, “ _You’re avoiding me, aren’t you?”_  and sends it. She doesn’t expect a reply; to all of her texts, even the ones where she questioned Fukawa’s well-being and _even_ the ones where Naegi told Kirigiri to inform Fukawa of her “true feelings” – which ended up with Kirigiri typing out a rather cheesy and clichéd _I miss talking to you_ message – she has yet to receive a reply, in person or otherwise. As she’s about to leave school Friday afternoon, she stops by Fukawa’s locker to wait for her like she’s been doing all week, but Fukawa never shows up and the crowd of students thin down to nothing.

                It’s disappointing to her, really. She’s sought answers and she’s yet to find any. She doesn’t think she’s offended Fukawa in any way; the last time they talked, Kirigiri got a text that was simply an apology for Fukawa being unable to get to her phone in the middle of the night, something Kirigiri couldn’t blame her for. Since then, the two haven’t had any communication despite the fact that Kirigiri has made a point in messaging at least once per day.

                It’s roughly six o’clock when Kirigiri finally hears back from Fukawa; though Fukawa’s been at school, she’s left the room whenever Kirigiri entered. Fukawa hasn’t spoken to her; Kirigiri wonders why she’s chosen now, of all times, to finally bother replying, but she isn’t complaining.

                _“What, do you hate me now?”_

                Kirigiri stares incredulously at the screen. Fukawa basically admitted to avoiding her, she reasons after a quick moment’s thought, and she thinks of what to say. She’s grateful, of course, that the author even bothered to reply.

                _“I don’t hate you at all.”_ Kirigiri assures briefly, because she doesn’t know what else she could possibly say at the moment. She turns her attention to one of Fukawa’s books; she’s spent the majority of her free time after studying reading what Fukawa has written, and though the latter hasn’t replied as of late, Kirigiri has never failed to notify her when she’s finished another novel. Kirigiri isn’t exactly an avid fan of romance, but she can’t seem to stop reading what Fukawa writes.

                Her  phone ringtone sounds loudly from where it sits next to her; she realizes she must have left the volume on, and before she answers the message, she turns it back down to vibrate mode.

                _“How?! Why?!”_

                Kirigiri types, _“We’re friends, aren’t we? You haven’t done anything to warrant any form of hatred from me.”_

                She’s about to set it back down again but another message soon after appears; Kirigiri isn’t entirely sure if it’s a reply to her previous message or not.

                _“Why are you so kind to me?! I don’t understand you!”_

                Kirigiri isn’t sure what she should say to that at all. Because Fukawa deserves it? Because they’re friends? She stares at the phone, waiting for another reply, but nothing else arrives. She still isn’t sure what to say. Roughly three minutes after getting the message, Kirigiri finally types out,

                _“I’m not entirely sure why I am, but I do know that you deserve kindness. We’re friends as well, and I’ve never heard of a friend being unkind.”_ She thinks that’s good, and with a small nod to herself, she hovers her thumb over the _send_ button and presses it.

                Fukawa’s next reply comes an hour later. Kirigiri doesn’t notice it at first, having gotten herself absorbed in another of Fukawa’s best-selling novels. She’s lying down in bed, the book held so that it hovers over her face and the pages casting a large shadow over her eyes. Occasionally, Kirigiri turns a page, and the one arm not supporting the book falls on the mattress next to her. Her wrist nudges her phone, and that’s when she snaps out of the trance and reaches for it.

                _“I’m sorry…”_

                Kirigiri blinks and she can’t help but feel a smile forming on her lips after reading that. She doesn’t understand it, but she reasons that finally hearing back from Fukawa uplifted her mood quite a bit. With a small chuckle, she simply sends the words _it’s alright_ and sets her phone back down on the mattress, resuming her journey through Fukawa’s novel.

~

                On Sunday, Kirigiri has absolutely nothing to do.

                She’s finished the last book by Fukawa that she managed to get from the library, and she’s still on a long wait list to get the rest. While she could re-read the books, she currently doesn’t desire to do so. She tries asking Naegi if he would want to see a movie with her later, but he’s busy with homework. She asks Celes if the latter would like to do something, but Celes implicitly states that she’s far too busy. She thinks to herself that she’d ask Togami, but then shakes her head, because she cannot stand his holier-than-thou attitude.

                Kirigiri isn’t entirely sure what Fukawa likes to do or if Fukawa would bother spending time with her outside of school, but she asks anyway. A few minutes later, she’s met with a message of, _“If you want… There’s the option of seeing a film…”_ Kirigiri asks if Fukawa would really want to watch a movie, and Fukawa informs Kirigiri in a rather snarky fashion that she’s _perfectly capable of reading the actor’s lips._ She informs Fukawa that they’ll meet at the theatre she names, and then crawls out of bed to get ready, and as she does so, she wonders how often Fukawa watches films in her free time.

                Once she’s showered and dressed, she grabs her purse and makes sure she has money for the both of them – just in case – and heads out of the house. She informs her father that she’s going to see a movie with Fukawa and leaves immediately afterwards. It’s not too long of a walk to the theatre but the route has quite a lot of turns through rather crowded areas, and because of the crowd pushing against her, Kirigiri narrowly manages to make it in time.

                Fukawa is already there. She stands outside the theatre entrance, dressed in an outfit Kirigiri wouldn’t expect her to wear; a long black skirt and a long-sleeved white top with buttons down the center meant purely for decoration and serving no purpose. She’s carrying a purse as well that looks oddly blocky, and as Kirigiri approaches, Fukawa doesn’t seem to notice and takes a book out of the purse and flips to a marked page. Kirigiri stops for a single moment and thinks to herself that Fukawa looks good in her chosen outfit, and then continues to approach after gazing for a few seconds. Once they’re within a few feet of each other, Fukawa glances up, and a tiny and almost unnoticeable smile graces her lips.

                Fukawa puts her book back into her purse and Kirigiri notices that she has several more in that bag of hers. As she zips the purse closed, she questions, “Wh-what movie are we seeing?” Her voice is quiet, difficult to hear over the roar of people passing by.

                “That’s up to you,” Kirigiri states calmly as she steps inside the theatre and waits for Fukawa, who follows seconds after. “I never looked up the movie listings today.”

                Fukawa doesn’t reply to that, simply nodding as the two get in line to buy tickets. Kirigiri wonders if Fukawa brought money when she looks back and spots the other girl rifling through her purse, a minute later pulling out a thin wallet. Kirigiri notes that they’re next in line and gets out her own. Kirigiri isn’t sure how to sign _how often do you watch movies_ , so she’s grateful that Fukawa can read lips well enough to answer her question.

                “I-I only watch them i-if they look interesting…” She almost hisses, as if the question offends her. Fukawa looks as though she’s going to say something else, but then she points at the front of the line and Kirigiri realizes they’re next. Before she can open her mouth to ask Fukawa what movie they’ll see, the other girl is already telling the woman selling tickets which one. The title sounds awfully familiar, and once both of them pay and head towards the theatre area, Kirigiri begins,

                “You never informed me that they turned one of your novels into a film. Is that why you wanted to see a movie?”

                “I-I wasn’t just going to t-talk about the trash I write!” Fukawa defends, looking sheepish.

                “I recently read that book. It was written well, Fukawa-san. I rather enjoyed it.” Kirigiri states calmly, hearing Fukawa gasp thereafter. “I assume you wanted to see what the producers of the film did with the novel?”

                Fukawa nods, but she doesn’t say anything else. Kirigiri asks if the other girl wants snacks, and Fukawa shakes her head and curls her lip in disgust at the theatre food. The two eventually hand their tickets over and go into the theatre, sitting down in the back per Fukawa’s request. In the dim light, it’s hard for the two to communicate adequately, and to pass the time until the film begins they pass Kirigiri’s phone back and forth and type messages onto the notepad app.

                Most of their conversations are petty small talk, but Kirigiri invites Fukawa to lunch after the film, and Fukawa takes a minute to agree. By the time Kirigiri’s phone gets passed back to her, the lights dim further and the screen flickers to life.

                During the entire course of the film, Kirigiri pays attention to every detail. For the most part, it’s a good movie, but the filmmakers left out a few rather important scenes that were in the novel. Kirigiri figures something else out, too, when she discovers that Fukawa is hardly watching the film based upon her own writing. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see that Fukawa’s glance constantly shifts from the screen to Kirigiri’s face. Whenever Kirigiri seems entertained by the movie, Fukawa smiles, just a tiny bit. It’s then that Kirigiri figures out that Fukawa wanted Kirigiri to see the so that Fukawa could study Kirigiri’s reactions to it. As soon as the lights come back on and the film ends, Kirigiri turns to her and asks about her theory.

                Fukawa’s cheeks light up red with embarrassment, and she chokes out, “Y-y-you seem to l-like what I write! That’s why!”

                “I do enjoy it very much. I felt that the book was better than the film – but that’s true of every film derived from a novel, isn’t it?” Kirigiri offers a small smile. “I noticed that you were watching me, and I had to ask.”

                “I-I… t-the way you talk so highly of my work is weird!” Fukawa shouts, and dropping her voice to an almost inaudible whisper, she adds, “It makes m-me feel more confident, though.”

                Kirigiri smiles at her and stands up, tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear. “Shall we go to lunch, then?”

                Fukawa stands and dusts off her skirt with both hands, grabbing her purse from where it sat at her feet, and nods once, pushing past Kirigiri and taking off with her braids flowing out behind her and her arms clutched almost nervously around herself. 


	9. Chapter 9

 

 Lunch that day ends up being from an out-of-the-way, rather small noodle shop. It was the closest thing in the vicinity to the theatre and neither of the two wanted to eat theatre food for lunch. As they sit down at a table with their bowls, Kirigiri notices that Fukawa doesn’t seem to have too great of an appetite, and after a few seconds, both of them begin eating in silence that’s only masked by the idle chatter coming from two other sets of customers. The first, a mother and her son, who couldn’t be older than four years old; the second, two teenage boys who were younger than Kirigiri and Fukawa.

Fukawa appears to be finished eating even though she has half of her bowl left, but she sat back and stopped eating, so Kirigiri simply assumes she’s finished. The latter, of course, is still working on her meal when she stops after her last bite and glances at the door. She stares with a watchful, sidelong glance as a rather beautiful woman crosses into her vision and leaves it seconds after. Kirigiri’s eyes flick to Fukawa’s face, and that’s when she realizes that Fukawa saw that – and by the look in the author’s eyes, she’s figured it out.

“A-are you…?” Fukawa doesn’t finish her statement; they both know what she implies, and Kirigiri nods before bowing her head. There stands a chance that Fukawa _is_ homophobic – there’s no evidence to support otherwise that Kirigiri can find when she does a quick run-down of everything she knows about Fukawa – and she considers excusing herself and leaving. Of _course_ Fukawa would figure it all out just from a glance; she’s a _romance_ author, and for a second Kirigiri cannot believe she slipped up so badly –

“Th-that’s okay…! S-stop looking so sorry for yourself!”

Kirigiri looks up, hardly managing to say anything aside from choking out a small, quiet gasp of, _“Eh?”_

“I-I know people just a-as _vile_ as me w-would have those thoughts, but I-I don’t!”

The aspiring detective cleverly states, “Then, you’re not quite as vile as them, are you?” The simple comment causes Fukawa’s eyes to light up; a small look of shock crosses onto her features, replaced moments later by her usual blank stare. For a second she doesn’t look as though she believes Kirigiri, but she doesn’t bother protesting and Kirigiri turns back to her meal without another word.

~

It’s snowing gently by the time they leave the restaurant. The only one of them with a jacket is Kirigiri, and she’s wearing it; Fukawa didn’t bring one at all. When Kirigiri inquires as to why (because the weather report for the day _did_ mention that it might snow in the afternoon), Fukawa replies that she’s taking the train home and that there’s hardly a point because she lives next to the station. It’s a twenty-minute walk from the small shop to the station, however, and the air is chillier than earlier. Kirigiri offers to walk Fukawa there even though she lives in the opposite direction, to which Fukawa doesn’t respond but seems relatively happy when Kirigiri joins her on the walk. It’s hard to walk and look at each other to sign and speak, so they remain silent with the occasional negative comment from Fukawa (usually, about the way someone apparently looked at her as if she was _trash_ or _disgusting_ or _they couldn’t stand her_ ).

Halfway through their walk, Fukawa begins to shiver, and upon further inspection, Kirigiri realizes that the author’s long-sleeved shirt is incredibly thin; the skin on her arms shows through the white fabric, turning it to a pale pink colour. Feeling a bit bad – Kirigiri’s shirt is thicker and she’s wearing a jacket over that – the latter takes off her coat, earning a peculiar glance from Fukawa as they continue to strut along the path. She then holds it out to Fukawa and, when the other doesn’t make an attempt to grab the coat as the two girls stop walking for a split second, Kirigiri drapes it over her friend’s shoulders and continues on without another word.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Fukawa questions lowly as she quickens her pace in a short burst to catch up.

“You were shivering.” Kirigiri states flatly, swinging her arms at her sides as she continues to walk and feeling the chilly air nip at her arms through her own shirt.

“Y-you’ll be cold! Why would you lend your jacket to someone as _horrid_ as me?!”

Kirigiri sighs, quietly and shortly, and it seems as though Fukawa didn’t catch that. She doesn’t bother going on about how Fukawa isn’t horrid at all – Kirigiri doesn’t bring up that she’s grateful for Fukawa’s earlier supportive words over lunch – and instead she simply tells Fukawa that they’re friends and she doesn’t want her friend to get cold. Though the author attempts to protest, a small shake of her head is all it takes to make Fukawa fall into silence.

As they shuffle along the sidewalk through the thinning crowd, snowflakes fall around them in miniscule amounts, sticking to the concrete below in a delicate sheet. Fukawa’s dark hair is strewn with a few of the flakes, and less noticeably, Kirigiri’s own hair is as well. The two girls stroll towards their destination, hair flowing out behind them due to the slight wind.

When Kirigiri glances towards Fukawa, the girl is clutching the edges of the jacket and holding it closed. Her arms aren’t in the sleeves but her quivering ceases, and as she thinks to herself, the corners of Fukawa’s lips twitch into an almost unnoticeable smile.

~

She realizes that she has a bit of a problem the moment their hands brush against each other when they depart at the station. Kirigiri can feel it through her gloves, and though the hand-touch was an accidental result of the two girls exchanging a friendly one-armed hug, it causes Kirigiri to quickly yet somehow calmly turn and walk the other direction in embarrassment.

What Kirigiri feels definitely goes slightly beyond friendship, and in the heat of the moment as she tries to get out of the station before Fukawa figures it out for herself, she mistakenly forgets to take her coat back. It doesn’t cross her mind that she’s without it until the train has already departed and Kirigiri is left to walk home in the chilly weather.

It’s no wonder, then, why the way Fukawa looks at Togami when they’re at school makes her stomach twist. It explains everything, and she can’t believe that she hasn’t figured it out before. When Kirigiri gets home, she goes straight to her room and collapses onto her bed. Fukawa, Kirigiri deduces, is a _perfectly straight_ member of society who _clearly likes men_ and not women, so she decides that she’ll block out the mere idea that she and Fukawa could ever become anything more than friends. She preoccupies her time by re-reading notes from classes she’s already memorized and not once during that span of time does she allow herself to think of Fukawa, which results in her missing six text messages.

_“I have your jacket.”_

_“I’ll give it to you at school tomorrow.”_

_“Thanks for taking such a disgusting person out to lunch…”_

_“The New Year is in a month and I just wanted to ask you if you were doing anything…?”_

_“Kirigiri?”_

_“You’re ignoring me, right? Because I’m disgusting?”_

Kirigiri simply replies at the end of the day that she was studying and that she didn’t intend to ignore Fukawa, and then she decides to bathe for the night and go to bed.

~

When the Japanese New Year rolls around, the two find that they aren’t doing anything. Kirigiri doesn’t want to attend the festivals and would rather stay at home that night, that is until she finds that Fukawa jumped the gun and made plans for them to sit on the riverbank and wait for the fireworks display off in the distance at midnight. While Kirigiri thinks that it could be nice, she doesn’t want Fukawa to find out about the growing crush she has on the author, and she certainly doesn’t want to risk chasing Fukawa off.

Kirigiri’s been so weirdly paranoid lately that it’s almost out of character for her. It’s only noticeable, to her at least, when she’s around Fukawa. She no longer makes eye contact with the dark-haired girl and she tries not to walk as closely anymore (that often fails; Fukawa will get closer if Kirigiri strays too far). When they meet on the riverbank, which is void of people and dyed black and white under the dark sky and light of the moon, Kirigiri only looks at Fukawa once to greet her before she sits down in the grass to wait. It’s roughly past eleven.

The two girls spend the hour making small talk. Kirigiri avidly discusses Fukawa’s next novel with the latter girl when she timidly brings up the idea, and when Fukawa flips the discussion to Kirigiri’s career choice, the aspiring detective proceeds to speak about her dream to become a detective. Fukawa seems all for it, but her voice wavers slightly when she speaks, and Kirigiri can’t deduce why that is.

When the fireworks shoot off overhead, the two girls drop their conversations and turn to look at the sky. They remain silent for the entire duration of the show, the lights colouring the sky illuminating the river and their faces in tones of pinks and greens and any other imaginable colour. The sky clutters with dirty clouds of pollution and blocks out the stars twinkling overhead, and eventually, the show ends and blackness envelops the two of them again.

Kirigiri turns to face Fukawa and opens her mouth to thank Fukawa for making the plans and to inform the latter that Kirigiri did, in fact, have fun spending time with her. No words have the opportunity to make it out of her mouth. It takes Kirigiri a moment to realize that her mouth is clamped shut now and the reason for that…

Fukawa’s eyes are closed, the edges of her glasses bumping Kirigiri’s face, their lips connected and Fukawa’s hand placed over Kirigiri’s in the grass. She feels heat rise to her face and eventually closes her eyes, and though she wants to lean into the kiss more she’s paralyzed by the moment. By the time she tries, it’s too late, and Fukawa’s pulled away with the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

Kirigiri begins to question it, but by then Fukawa’s shouting out apologies and self-depreciative comments and before Kirigiri can stop her, the former girl is up and sprinting off in the other direction with her long braids flowing out behind her back. Placing her fingertips over her lips, Kirigiri lowers her gaze to the grass below and her other hand – which Fukawa held for a sole moment – and slowly gets up to drag herself home.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a bit of research and the Japanese do have fireworks on the Japanese New Year. Hopefully this chapter makes sense.


End file.
